Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe, Gabby Giffords and Denzel Washington among Medal of Freedom awardees

President Joe Biden will award the Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — to 17 recipients next week, with his first slate of honorees since taking office featuring Olympians, an Academy Award winner, the first American to receive the Covid-19 vaccine outside of trials, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and civil rights advocates.